Trek Team Set Bar High For Debut Season

ROUBAIX, France, Jan 10, 2014 (AFP) – New outfit Trek are aiming high for
their debut season after unveiling a star-studded team, featuring Fabian
Cancellara and the Schleck brothers, on Friday.

The new team replaces the old outfit RadioShack and will combine the
experience of riders such as Switzerland’s Cancellara, the Schleck brothers
and Germany’s Jens Voigt with promising youngsters including Danny van Poppel
of the Netherlands.

“We hope to win as many races as possible, but I prefer quality to
quantity,” said team boss Luca Guercilana at a presentation at the covered
velodrome in the northern French town of Roubaix.

“Our two primary objectives are to win the classics and finish on the
podium in the Tour de France.

“We have very experienced riders but we needed youngsters to complete the
team. The mix of youth and experience will be the key to success.”

The star of the team will without doubt be the 32-year-old Cancellara, the
four-time world time trial champion who could make beating the hour record one
of his objectives.

“I have many ambitions, not just one. The hour record is something we have
talked about but nothing has been decided,” said Cancellara, who is also
likely to try and win the Paris-Roubaix classic for the fourth time and equal
the record held by Belgian duo Roger De Vlaeminck and Tom Boonen.

Meanwhile, Franck Schleck, the elder of the brothers from Luxembourg, is
eager to show that he can still compete at the highest level after serving a
one-year suspension following a positive test for a banned diuretic.

“I want to show that I am not finished. I can’t wait to attack the new
season,” said the 33-year-old, who will begin his season at the Tour Down
Under later this month and has also made the Tour de France one of his stated
aims for the year.

“I have had a lot of support and continued to train during my ban. It could
be interesting at the start, but I am sure I will be fine.”